Fendi’s Latest Campaign Is An Ode To The Modern-Day Marie Antoinette

Text by Saumya Sinha

The fashion house takes cues from classic French opulence for its ultra-luxe ad campaign

Ever wondered what modern-day Marie Antoinette would look like? Imagine her trading the deep décolletage for a hatchling neckline; a sheer bodice covers her porcelain skin and knitted sock boots dress her feet. While she wears her elaborate gilded fabrics, rococo prints and exaggerated sleeves, the farthingale is nowhere in sight. If this doesn’t paint a clear enough picture, then turn to Fendi’s latest campaign Other Rooms, Other Voices. Starring the Hadid sisters, Bella and Gigi, along with Italian model Vittoria Ceretti, it juxtaposes the past with the future through a pink-lemonade lens.

Silvia Venturini Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld’s vision comes to life in a series of distressed spaces replete with pastel boiserie. Vintage floral wallpaper, a parquet floor and a red marble fireplace recreate the mood of a typical French apartment. Here rugby stripes meet lavish brocades as the Italian label’s new collection segues from athleisure to boudoir dressing. ‘For the Fendi Spring/Summer 2017 advertising campaign, I have chosen the models of the moment, shot in different rooms. For the set I took inspiration from the mood of the clothes and at the same time the places people had left, the rooms that were filled in the past by their voices; while the future is represented by the presence of these girls,’ states Lagerfeld who shot the images himself. This idea of old giving way to new expresses itself through the sporty femininity seen on the runway when models paraded in the French queen’s famous apron-inspired dresses — that come with an open back and are tied at the waist — paired with athletic boots. Skirts with garden prints, scalloped borders and hints of metallic shimmer lent an ethereal feel to the line-up. Lingerie was layered with striped sweaters while playful socks punctuated delicate luxe-meets-athletic mash-ups.

Although the image of models walking on water at the Trevi Fountain during Fendi’s last couture show is still fresh in our memory, we love the amalgamation of 18th-century glamour with contemporary silhouettes. Summer looks more promising than ever.